Object Details
- Yoruba artist
- Label Text
- Gelede is a masquerade to honor and placate the "mothers," incarnate forces of thwarted fertility and spiritual power who are less diplomatically referred to as witches. Although men, appearing in pairs, dance these masks, many gelede masks depict women. Some are satiric or genre characters. Others have elaborate superstructures with figures of devotees, animals, exaggerated head ties (a woman's head covering) or even palm trees. This mask has a coiled python on top. The python has associations with water spirits and divinities and with wealth. The snake can also exemplify patience since it waits for its prey and it is alert even when it appears to be asleep. It is an emblem of transformation, shedding its skin and going from earth burrows to trees to water. Since its bite is normally in response to aggression, it is compared to the just response to witchcraft.
- Gelede masks are worn like caps and tilted at a 45-degree angle on the forehead. The sculptor takes this angle into account when carving the mask. Typically gelede masks are polychromed.
- Description
- Wood cap mask topped by coiled python. Dark patina to face and blue and white pigment on python.
- Provenance
- Saul Bellow, Chicago,(gift of funds) 1969
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. James A. Magner, Washington, D.C. -1968
- Exhibition History
- Artful Animals, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2009-July 25, 2010
- Published References
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Art Gallery. 1970. African Art. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, p. 32, no. 83.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Credit Line
- Gift of Saul Bellow
- Early - mid 20th century
- Object number
- 69-4-11
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Mask
- Medium
- Wood, pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 19.8 x 20.6 x 31.3 cm (7 13/16 x 8 1/8 x 12 5/16 in.)
- Geography
- Nigeria
- Benin
- See more items in
- National Museum of African Art Collection
- Object Name
- gelede
- National Museum of African Art
- Topic
- snake
- Male use
- male
- Record ID
- nmafa_69-4-11
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7ee22eb59-b776-4300-9062-8ff21d4c48e3
